I've been eyeing a date with Beef and Liberty's char siu burger ever since this baby made its debut a little over a year ago. But I have never been able to arrive at the airport early enough to do so. Tonight, our flight to Paris was delayed for more than an hour so it's the chance to relish this opportunity.
The recipe goes something like this: pork patty, char siu style marinated pork belly, spring onion, chilli, coriander and soya mayo.
Yes, I finally got my hands on one of these! It was fairly tasty but I just couldn't see the resemblance with our Chinese char siu at all. As a matter of fact, the chilli and soya mayo were both so overpowering that I wasn't so sure if I could taste the pork belly in the first place.
Of course I won't leave Beef and Liberty without their vanilla milkshake. I noticed the much thicker texture comparing to previous times. Sooo gooood!
With that out of the way, it's time to get ready for boarding. Paris, here we come!
Food Rating : 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop 7E138, 7/F (Restricted Area) - HKIA Terminal, 1 Cheong Tat Road, Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Airport
Tel: +852 2152-1966
Website: www.beef-liberty.com
I was keen to go back to HAKU sometime this month and this morning, I got the extra push I needed from my blogger friend Tony (Thanks Tony!). He was telling me about the recent changes to HAKU’s menu. And the chef’s committed effort to make it more “western” (from its usual Japanese-French fusion). That was all the motivation I needed to go out and try it myself.
As it turned out, Chef Balbi was out for a meeting (Met him just outside the mall) so my dear life (and well-being of my taste buds) now rests in the very capable hands of Chef Luis, the long-time deputy and right-hand man to Chef Balbi.
We were first offered a couple of interesting nibbles to kick off the meal.
The first nibble was a crunchy dough made with corn which was topped with chicken salad and avocado.
That was followed by another cute little canapé with slices of smoked Spanish sardines and yuzu flavored caviar sitting comfortably on a small sheet of potato paper.
Lunch got off to a brilliant start with the first course of the set lunch menu, Japanese squid which has been cut into tiny noodles.
The slippery squid noodles really surprised me with its sharp sweetness and that was beautifully matched with small chunks of pork belly and lardo giving it some extra flavors and textures to work with.
They have also added some tuiles made with karasumi (salted mullet roes ) and what I thought was carrot on top for a strong finish.
The second course was French blue lobster served in an elegant glass with toppings of caviar and sweet corn foam.
Underneath that was creamy Lobster coral custard, cauliflower cream and some toasted croutons.
I loved the flavor and texture profiles in this dish. There’s the crunch from the croutons; there’s the smoothness of the coral custard and cauliflower cream, also the saltiness of the caviar and lightness of the sweet corn foam; all complementing the succulent lobster beautifully.
Next up was my main course, roasted dry aged Iberico pork served with braised cabbage and parsnip.
Slightly less impressive than the last two dishes but the tangy pork bone sauce and dab of mustard sauce did enough to add sharp and vibrant flavors to the pork.
Dessert was Fukuoka orange granita and compote with Hokkaido white chocolates and crumbs. A simple yet effective dessert to refresh our palates.
Finally, a small petite four made with vanilla jelly, red bean paste and rice crispies concluded another well-executed lunch at one of my favorite restaurants in town.
Despite the news about a possible change of philosophy shifting away from their usual Japanese-French fusion approach, there was no sign of that from today’s menu. But whether it’s happening soon or not, I couldn’t care less as long as the food continues to taste so good.
Food Rating: 7.5/10
Price: $$$$
Address: Shop OTG04, G/F Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, 3-27 Canton Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Tsim Sha Tsui
Tel: +852 2115-9965
Website: www.haku.com.hk
Hailed from Hiroshima (廣島), Fu-Unmaru (風雲丸) is a Japanese ramen shop specializing in tsukemen (沾麵), a type of Japanese noodles which are eaten by dipping in a separate bowl of soup or broth. What makes their tsukemen one of the most sought-after ramens in town these days is their scrumptious fish powder pork bone soup prepared with Katakuch iwashi, some sort of dried sardine sourced directly from Japan.
I was trying to decide between their signature tsukemen and the limited-time-only lobster tsukemen. After struggling to come up with a final decision, I ended up changing my mind at the very last minute - Tonkotsu ramen with fish powder (豚骨魚介拉麵). I guess I didn't want to waste time dipping the noodles into the broth.
Having skipped breakfast this morning, it was safe to say I was pretty hungry at this hour. So, I also ordered some pan-fried dumplings to fix my craving.
Pretty decent stuff.
As expected, the broth was pretty thick with very good depth of flavors thanks to the fish powder and pork bones. And it's always nice to see my ramen soup arrive in boiling temperature.
The noodles offered pretty firm bite working well with the rich flavored broth.
I love the thick slab of slow-cooked pork belly. Very succulent.
Having just tried the dipping ramen at Menya Itto (麵屋一燈) last week, I thought the Hiroshima-style ramen here was equally good, if not better. And the best part of all, it saved me a good 30-40%, which is always a bonus.
Food Rating: 5.5/10
Price: $$$
Address: Shop B, G/F, W Square, 314-324 Hennessy Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong
Closest Metro Station: Wanchai
Tel: +852 3188-1472
